Just a Normal Day
by les7091
Summary: Everything started out as just a normal day, but now the pool of blood kept getting bigger and bigger. How had this happened?
1. Chapter 1

_**Please review and let me know what you think :)**_

"Oh god... It'll be okay, Carrots, you just have to keep your eyes open, okay? Look at me" Nick said after rushing to Judy's side, which was already covered in blood

"Nick... I'm sorry" Judy managed to say, her voice quiet and low, much different than her usual tone

"What in Tundra Town could you possibly be sorry for?" Nick asked, taking her hand and holding it tight

"You told me not to run after him... You told me to wait for backup, but I wouldn't listen" She muttered

"I don't care about that, I care about you. Open your eyes, look at me, Carrots" He demanded when her eyes drifted shut. She opened them, but Nick could tell it took great effort for her to do so "It'll be okay" He whispered to her

"I don't know" Judy said, her voice barely even taking a sound

"Don't say that!" Nick snapped, his voice breaking. Tears had already begun flowing from his eyes without permission. He hadn't cried in a long time. But the pool of blood was only getting bigger and he had never been so scared "Judy, look at me!"

Nick never used her name, always a nickname, and the shock of hearing it made Judy pull her eyes back open. But it was hard

"Nick... I can't" She told him

Nick's heart dropped lower than it already had. Judy was the most stubborn mammal he had ever known, and she never said she couldn't do something... ever.

"Please" Nick pleaded, hearing sirens in the distance and knowing she only had to hold out for a little longer.

But her eyes drifted shut again and the movement of her chest slowed to almost nothing.

His chest, however, had begun to work over time. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't go on without Judy. She had changed his life, become his partner, his best friend; she couldn't leave him!

"Out of the way!" Nick heard from behind him. He was reluctant to move away, but Bogo was already pulling him away from Judy. He released her hand, but felt like he had made a great mistake letting go

"I've got no pulse" Nick heard a paramedic say. He dropped to the ground and put his head agaist his knees

No, no, no, no, no!

"Clear!" A paramedic demanded before Nick heard an electric noise and then a loud thump. He couldn't stop the sob that esaped him

"Nothing"

"Clear!" He heard again

"Alright, let's go!" He heard someone say.

What did that mean?

Nick looked up and then quickly stood. They had Judy on a gurney and they were loading her into the ambulance

"Can I come?" Nick asked quickly, his voice shaking

"Family only" He was told before the door was shut in his face

"Shit!" Nick may have been a former con-fox, but he wasn't one for swearing. That was how the other cops knew he was serious and they said nothing as he jumped into the nearest police cruiser and quickly followed the ambulance

He had almost stopped at the cruiser next to the one he took to kill the weasel, who was somehow caught, sitting handcuffed in the back seat. But he had more important things to worry about

Like his Carrots

He drove behind the ambulance, going just as fast as it was. He watched through the back window, although he couldn't see anything. They wouldn't be taking her to the hospital if they hadn't been able to restart her heart... right?

The ambulance went to the back door, a direction Nick wasn't allowed to go; cop or not. So he went to the front of the hospital, pulling the cruiser into a spot he wasn't sure was even a parking spot, jumping out and hurrying inside.

Nick went to the emergency department, but there was nothing going on. Surely they had already brought her inside. He went to the desk

"Where's Judy?" He asked. The tigress sitting at the desk looked at him sadly. It was then that he noticed that the tears hadn't stopped

"Judy Hopps?" She asked

"Yes" Nick answered, taking a tissue from the desk and trying to stop his river of tears

"She's being prepared for surgery right now. The operation shouldn't take too long, if there arent any complications. You can have a seat in the waiting room" She told him

Nick did as she said, knowing there wasn't anything he could do at this point but wait.

How could this have happened? Nick thought. The day had started out so normal, but it has ended so terribly


	2. Chapter 2

"Nick, hurry up, we're going to be late for roll call! Come on!" Judy yelled as she ran into the police station. Judy, as usual, was up and ready for the day before the sun had even risen. When she went to get Nick, however, he hadn't even woken up yet. She had to shake him awake and then nag him to get up and get dressed. He said his alarm hadn't gone off, but she knew that he hadn't set an alarm at all. Judy was usually the one who had to wake him up, but today he was being extra slow getting ready. Now they were most definitely going to be late

"Come on, Carrots, I haven't even had my coffee yet!" Nick complained from behind her

"You should have thought about that when I was telling you to get dressed" she muttered as she pushed the door to the police station open and hurried inside, with Nick behind her

They burst through the door and were greeted by an angry looking Bogo. Judy stopped and her ears dropped down. She hadn't been late before. Nick swaggered in behind her with a smirk on his face

"Howdy, Chief" He said to the angry buffalo, paying no mind to his irritated expression

"Parking duty, both of you" Was all Bogo said before turning back to the rest of the room

"But-" Judy tried to argue, but she was cut off by Bogo's angry stare. She sighed loudly and turned to leave the room, snatching Nick by the tie and dragging him along behind her

"I can't breathe, Cottontail" Nick wheezed after they got out of the room

"Good!" Judy yelled, though she did release him "Because of you, we were late for the first time and now we have to go do parking duty!" Judy grumbled, going to get their vests and car

"I don't get what the big deal is, Parking duty isn't that bad" Nick said after they got into their car and began looking for expired meters

"Of course you would say that, whenever we have parking duty, I do all the work and you just sit there" Judy snapped at him

"What do you need help with? You hear the meters before I do and you get the tickets written before I even know where it's going. It's obviously not that hard" Nick explained while looking down at his phone

"Not that hard, huh? Would you care to place a wager on that?" Judy asked, a sly grin on her face

"You want to make a bet with me?" Nick asked, his attention finally turning to his partner, his interest sparked

"Well of course. First one to 200 tickets?" Judy suggested

"200 tickets!? That's impossible for one day" Nick tried to argue

"Nonsense, I wrote over 200 on my first day" she informed him, her grin turning into a smirk. Nick, not wanting to be shown up, agreed

"Okay, but what does the winner get?"

"... Any ideas?"

"...Loser buys dinner?" Nick suggested. Judy stopped the car and jumped out to write a ticket. Nick got out behind her and leaned against the car, watching her print the ticket and place it on the car in front of her. He could tell she was thinking about it.

"Deal. First to 200 tickets" Judy said, holding out her hand to shake on it. Nick took her hand, and Judy held on tight "Before noon" She then quickly added, before letting go and jumping into the car. Nick was stunned for a moment, but then he ran to try to catch up with Judy

"Hey, that's not fair!" Nick yelled. Judy looked back at him with a large smile on her face

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart" She told him, laughing and driving faster. Nick continued to run behind her, but he didn't hear the meter click, so when Judy slammed on the brakes, Nick slammed into the back of the car.

By the time he was able to drag himself off the ground, Judy was gone. Nick let out a low growl and began walking; listening for expired meters

They didn't see each other again until they met at the station when their shift ended at five. Judy had a grin on her face and Nick had a smirk on his

"Well?" Judy asked. Nick showed her his meter reader; it said 205. Judy's grin grew and she took the small machine from him and pushed a few buttons

"W-what are you doing?" Nick asked, his smirk dropping away

"Well it says here that your last ticket was written... five minutes ago" Judy told him, laughing "It took you all day to write those?"

"How many did you get?" Nick demanded, taking her machine from her. He didn't know what she had done, however, so he had to give it back. She pressed a few buttons again and handed it smugly back to her partner

320 with the 200th ticket being written at 11:30. She decided to get a little lazy after she won their bet, and now she was feeling very smug about it

Nick growled slightly at her

"Where are we going for dinner?" He asked her

"I want pizza!" Judy exclaimed, excited.

As they left the police station, Nick decided to try out ol reliable

"Oh, you know what, Fluff? I think I left my wallet at home. Aw, how unfortunate" He told her, faking concern

"Really, then what's this?" Judy questioned, pulling out a black wallet

"How did you get my wallet?" Nick asked, astonished. Judy laughed at him, and gave him back his wallet.

"Snatched it from your back pocket earlier. I knew I would win, and I knew you would pull that old trick" Nick sighed loudly, he had been beat today, in more ways than one.

"Which pizza place?" He asked, admitting defeat

"Snappy Tomato, of course" Judy answered, driving in the direction of the establishment

"Wait, is that the one with the alligators?" Nick asked, nervously

"Yeah, do you have a problem with alligators?"

"Well... I once tried to hustle an alligator. Long story short, my tail used to be at least an inch longer" Nick explained, sounding grim. But Judy couldn't stop laughing

She giggled the rest of the way to the pizza joint. Nick tried to act mad about her laughing at his pain, but he loved the sound of her laugh too much to complain

"What is on that pizza?" Nick asked, looking disgustedly at the two slices of pizza on Judy's plate

"Carrots, of course" Judy answered, taking a big bite out of one of the slices

"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen" he muttered, shaking his head

"You've never even tried it! Here, taste" Judy demanded, holding out the other slice

"Oh no, I've tried your carrots in many weird things. I was hesitant to try the cake, but I draw the line at pizza" He insisted; pushing her arm away

"Please, Nick" She begged, sticking out her bottom lip and dropping her ears low. Nick groaned at her, but then she let out the tiniest little whimper

"Give me the stupid pizza" He ordered, snatching the pizza from her paw. He hesitantly took a small bite and...

"Well?" Judy asked. Nick was so embarrassed. He didn't answer, he only put the pizza on her plate and began to eat his own "You liked it!" she giggled. He didn't answer.

"Just admit it, you liked it" Judy insisted, still not dropping the subject as they left

"Fine, fine... It wasn't bad" Nick mumbled.

"Was that so hard-" Judy was cut off by the radio

"We've got a robbery at the Bank of Ameerkat-"

"That's just down the road!" Judy exclaimed, running toward the building that was literally just a few buildings down from where they were

"Subject is armed and dangerous" Nick heard on the radio

"Judy, Wait!" He yelled "I''m calling for backup, please wait, he's dangerous!" Judy was already too far away and wasn't listening anyway "Officer Wilde and Hopps on pursuit, We need backup NOW!" Nick yelled into the receiver before running after Judy

He heard a commotion in the alley between two buildings just beyond the bank; which Judy wasn't inside of. He hurried into the alley, but he got there only in time to see the weasel, who was carrying a duffel bag twice his size, pull out a gun. Judy tried to say something to stop him, but he had already made up his mind.

The sound of the gunshot echoed loudly. Nick was stunned still. He couldn't move. He didn't know what to do.

"Which way did he go?" He heard from behind him. Another officer was running toward him

"That way" Nick managed to say, pointing in the direction he saw the weasel run. The officer quickly ran in that direction

"Oh man" Another officer said "I need an ambulance-"

Nick quickly toned out the officer and shook some sense into himself. He ran over to Judy, his heart sinking at the sight off the blood covering her shirt, and her eyes half shut...


	3. Chapter 3

Thinking about how normal the day had begun made Nick's heart ache. It could have happened any day. It could happen again. He tried to distract himself a little by looking up at the tv in the waiting room, but the news was on. And there was Chief Bogo speaking to a reporter

"No, We're not sure of the officer's current condition... She should be fine, though" Bogo said, sounding very unsure. Bogo was never unsure, so this made Nick feel even worse. He didn't know that was even possible

"We will keep you updated on the condition of Officer Hopps; Thanks to her actions, a dangerous criminal was captured. He has been linked to three other robberies in recent months, but he has now been put to a stop" The reporter said. When they put up a picture of the weasel, Nick had to look away and tune out the tv. He sat, trying not to think, but failing horribly

He was distracted, however, when he heard a commotion by the entrance doors and before he knew it he was being plowed into by a big bundle of fur

"Nick, I can't believe this happened! Is Judy okay? Where is she? I heard her heart stopped, is that true? Was she shot only once? I heard that it may have been more!" Clawhauser starting firing questions at him, with no time for answers in between

"Clawhauser, shut your trap!" Bogo roared from the doorway, which resulted in dirty looks from the nearby workers, though he ignored them

"I'm sorry, was I asking you too many questions? Am I upsetting you? Are you okay? Do you need a hug? Do you need a donut? I've got some donuts in the car. I got glazed, chocolate, chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, sprinkles, strawberry jelly filled, cherry jelly filled, boston cream filled-"

"Clawhauser!" Bogo demanded again

"I'm sorry" Clawhauser whispered, finally backing away from Nick and sitting in one of the chairs across the room. Bogo sat a seat away from Nick, because there wouldn't be enough room had he sat next to him

"Have you heard anything?" Bogo asked Nick gently. Nick had never heard the Chief's voice sound so sincere and quiet

"She's in surgery... That's all they told me..." Nick told him, trying to keep the shaking out of his voice.

They then sat in silence together, with none of them knowing what to say or do. Not that there was anything to say or do. Nick eventually looked up and saw a doctor who looked like he had just come out of surgery. He pulled his face mask down and began to speak to the woman at the desk.

Nick couldn't help himself; he jumped out of his chair and rushed over to the doctor

"Were you the one opperating on Judy? Is she okay? Can I see her?" Nick now understood Clawausers actions earlier.

"What is your relation to the patient?" The doctor asked, looking up at him. Nick didn't know what to say. He couldn't just say 'her partner' because they surely wouldn't let him see her

"He's her boyfriend" Bogo said from behind him as he placed a hoof on Nick's shoulder. Nick didn't question it, he was sure the chief had a motive, so he just nodded in agreement. The doctor looked unsure, but he allowed Nick to come with him

"We were able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. Her liver was not hit, but it is bruised pretty badly. We are going to keep her here overnight for observation; be sure there is no internal bleeding, organ rupture, et cetera" The doctor said as they walked down the hall "But if all is well tomorrow, she should be able to go home" He stopped next to a door and Nick looked at it

"Is she in there?" Nick asked. The doctor nodded "Can- can I see her?"

"Yes, but she may not wake up for another hour or so. She is also on some strong pain killers, so she may not be quite herself when she does wake" The doctor told him, opening the door

And there she was. Sitting slightly propped up in the hospital bed. Her uniform was gone and replaced with a slightly off white hospital gown. Her ears, which were usually bright pink, were nearly devoid of all color.

Nick slowly drifted into the room and took a chair from the corner, moving it next to the bed. He took Judy's paw and held it against his cheek

Her paws were usually so warm. But they felt cool. He wrapped his other paw around hers, trying to warm it

She was going to be okay, Nick kept telling himself. He didn't know how long he stayed there, holding Judy's paw and watching the color return to her ears, but eventually Judy's nose started to twitch a little. Nick just loved that

Her nose twitched a little more and then her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the light in the room

Nick let out a quiet sigh, but Judy heard him and looked in his direction

"Nick?" She said, her voice quiet and hoarse

"Hey, Cottontail" Nick breathed, the tears falling from his eyes again without permission "How you feelin?"

"...Kind of numb" Judy mumbled after thinking about it for a moment. Nick was finally able to smile

"I'd say so... They're got you pretty drugged up with the good stuff" Nick told her, smiling

"Yeah... The good... stuff" Judy couldn't really say more than a few words at a time and she sounded very drunk, but Nick couldn't be more happy to hear his partner's voice

"Yep... you need to sleep off the drugs; Then you can go home in the morning"

"Home... They yell at... home" She muttered

"Yeah, I know... You should come stay with me when you get out of here, so you don't have to hear all the yelling... I'll take care of you" He suggested

"Yeah... Stay with... Nick... Take me care of" Judy's words were becomming more slurred and she finally dropped back to sleep.

Thank goodness, Nick thought; her apartment sucks

Nick resumed his previous position, holding Judy's paw in both of his and just staring at her face... especially her cute bunny nose.

She would have a cow and a half if she knew he had thought that


	4. Chapter 4

_**So sorry for the long delay, I have been so sick. I finally went to the doctor after a week and they told me I had pneumonia, so I have felt like absolute crap. But I started meds and I'm feeling better**_

"Carrots, Look at me!" Nick yelled. Her eyes had shut. Her chest had stilled. And she didn't respond

This couldn't be happening! Nick felt the panic in his chest reach a dangerous level

"Carrots, come on, look at me! Please... please look at me... Judy..." Nick held his bunny tight and cried. She wasn't going to look at him. He was never going to see her beautiful eyes ever again

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't look away from his bunny

"Nick... Let her go" Bogo said

"No!" Nick yelled, holding her tighter when Bogo tried to pull him away

"Nick, you have to let her go" He heard, but he ignored it. They weren't going to take her from him

"Nick"

"Nick, come on"

"Nick, please"

The voices wouldn't stop, and he couldn't keep ignoring them. Except when he heard a voice he had thought he wouldn't hear again. He looked down at Judy, but she was pale. Her chest remained still and her eyes didn't open. Where did the voice come from?

He knew it was hers, he had no doubt about that at all.

"Nick" He heard her say again. What was going on?

Suddenly everything went dark and he woke with a start

"Nick, are you okay?" Judy asked, her voice still sounding a little weak. Nick tried to steady his breathing, but just the sight of Judy with her ears bright pink and her beautiful amethyst eyes widened in concern made Nick feel better. He smiled at her

"You're asking if I'm okay?" He asked her with a slightly forced chuckle. He took her paw from the bed and wrapped it in his own "I'm more worried about you"

Judy looked a little surprised at the way Nick took her paw and looked so concerned. She knew he cared; they were partners, but this seemed different somehow

"I'm fine; a little sore... what happened?" She asked quietly

"What do you remember?" Nick asked, not looking at Judy, but rather at their paws

"We were leaving Snappy Tomato... They said something on the radio about a burglary, and I ran to get the thief... I don't really remember much after that" Judy told him, thinking hard about what she could remember

"You did... you chased him into an alley and he shot you. I finally caught up and" Nick stopped before his voice could break "And after a few minutes, the backup I called for arrived. They caught the weasel and called an ambulance... I tried to keep you awake... It didn't work" Nick put his head farther down so Judy couldn't see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes

"You blacked out not long before the ambulance got there... Your heart stopped" Nick tried to stop it, but his voice broke and the tears fell

"The paramedics were able to restart it and they got you in the ambulance, but they wouldn't let me come" Nick was still very upset about that, and Judy could tell from his tone "The doctor removed the bullet and that was that"

There was a long silence while Nick tried to stop the tears, and Judy digested what she was just told

"Nick" Judy said quietly. Nick hesitated for a moment, but he looked up at her, the shine in his eyes still very visible "Oh, Nick" She whispered, a slight quiver in her voice

Before anything else could be said, there was a knock on the door and a doctor came in

"Glad to see you awake, how are you feeling?" She asked. Judy didn't look away from Nick until he swept back the hair between his ears and gave the doctor his signature smirk. Judy knew by now that it was a defense mechanism. She sighed and looked at the doctor

"I feel okay, a little sore. It hurts a little to breath" She told her. Nick's smirk fell a little and he couldn't hide his concern

"That's normal" The doctor said, and Nick relaxed a little "I need to check your incisions and do some other things, and then you should be free to go home"

"Okay. Nick, why how about you go get something to eat?" Judy suggested. Nick wasn't too happy about the idea, but he agreed, because he was hungry and he needed to need the energy for the argument that was definitely going to develop later

The doctor removed Judy's bandages and looked at her stitches, saying they looked well and then told her about how to avoid tearing them and what to do if she did

"You've got a great boyfriend, you know" the doctor said as she replaced Judy's bandages

"What now?" Judy asked, confused

"The fox. He stayed here all night, and got here right after you did. He held your paw all night. It was pretty adorable" She said. Judy didn't respond, she only thought about what that meant. Why would Nick tell them he was her boyfriend? Is that what he wants? She pondered the implications until the doctor left and Nick returned. He brought her a carrot cookie, which made her smile


	5. Chapter 5

_**Please review and let me know what you think, I love reviews :)**_

"Judy! You're not dead!" Clawhauser shouted, excited, as Judy was wheeled down the hallway in a wheelchair. He ran up to her, intending on giving her a big hug, but the look on Nick's face made him realize it was probably a bad idea. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Thank you" Judy said, smiling at him. It looked like most of the force was in the waiting room, including Bogo "Hey, Chief" She said, surprised

"Glad to see you looking better" He said "But I don't want you back at the station until you are 100% better, you and your partner" Judy wanted to argue, but she knew it would be futile. Nick, on the other hand, smirked and saluted him

"Now, your bandages need changed twice a day for the first few days. Give it some air at night. The stitches should fall out on their own. There may be some bleeding, but if it seems excessive, come see us" The doctor told Judy as the group of Police Officers began to leave, now that they saw that she was okay "Make sure you don't move or stretch too much, so you don't tear your stitches. Be sure to ask for help when you need it" She could tell that Judy was not the kind of mammal to ask for help, so she gave her a very pointed look when telling her this

"Okay" Judy agreed, though she knew she would probably not be asking for much help "Thank you"

The drive to Judy's apartment was mostly silent, with Nick looking over at her every few minutes. He thought Judy didn't notice, but she knew when he was looking at her. She wasn't quite sure why he was looking at her, but she knew.

They got the Judy's apartment and went in, all while completely silent. Neither of them knew what to say

"Well... Get some stuff and let's go" Nick finally said when they were in her apartment

"What?" Judy asked, confused

"You're coming to stay with me" Nick said, as if it were the most obvious answer ever

"...No I'm not" Judy answered, wondering why he would automatically assume that

"Yeah you are" Nick insisted "Come on, hurry up, I have this awesome new movie I want to watch"

"Well then, go watch it"

"No, you agreed that you would stay with me so I can help you" he argued

"And when was that?" Judy asked, crossing her arms; a little more slowly than normal, as she could feel the pulling on her stitches. Nick smirked at her and she got a bad feeling. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the carrot pen. Oh no

"Yeah... Stay with... Nick... Take me care of" Judy's voice said from the pen as Nick grinned larger than she had ever seen.

"That does not count! I was on powerful medication" Judy insisted, her ears bright red from embarrassment

"Au contraire, little bunny, it most definitely does count. The pen said, so it shall be" Nick said with a cocky wink

"He got you, that so does count" one of the deer from upstairs shouted

"What are you talking about? She was drugged up!" the other barked

"So? She still agreed to it"

"Mind your own business!" Judy tried to yell, but it hurt, so her voice dropped down to normal, seeing as they could hear her either way

"Do you really want to stay here in this tiny, crappy apartment, listening to them yelling all the time?" Nick asked, loosing some of his cocky attitude and sounding genuinely concerned

"RUDE! These apartments aren't crappy!" They heard from upstairs

"These are to crappy apartments!"

"YOU'RE A CRAPPY APARTMENT!"

"THAT MAKES NO SENSE!"

"YOU _LIVE IN_ A CRAPPY APARTMENT! I BET _THAT_ MAKES SENSE!"

"WE LIVE IN THE SAME APARTMENT!"

All the screaming was giving Judy a headache. Maybe it was a good idea for her to stay with Nick. And he did seem very concerned about her. She sighed loudly, making a decision

"Fine" She agreed, going to her closet and grabbing a bag before throwing her small supply of clothes into it along with her toothbrush and fur brush. She didn't have much else

"Let's go" She said, picking up her bag to leave. But Nick took the bag from her and walked out the door. Judy stood there, confused, for a moment before following him

"You know, I can carry my own stuff" She told Nick, annoyed, when she caught up to him

"Not when you were just shot" Nick said, putting her bag in the backseat of his car and then climbing in himself. Judy didn't argue with him, she knew it would be useless. When she got into the car, Nick looked at her with his signature smirk

"You ready to go, cottontail?" He asked. Judy rolled her eyes and nodded. Nick pulled into the street, chuckling. He was feeling pretty good about himself, getting Judy to agree to stay with him. He knew he was going to do it eventually; there was no way he was going to let her stay alone, but it still make him feel pretty cocky

He didn't really want to admit it, but he was relieved more than anything. He knew how stubborn Judy could be, and he didn't want her hurting herself trying to do something alone.

They resumed their actions from earlier; sitting and driving in silence, with Nick occasionally glancing at Judy, checking that she was okay


	6. Chapter 6

_**I tried posting this yesterday, but my computer wouldn't cooperate, so sorry about that. Please review and let me know what you think, it encourages me to write**_

"I'm going to put your stuff in my room" Nick told Judy when they got to his place, gesturing to a room on the left. Judy didn't say anything, she just nodded and went to the living room. They had to walk upstairs to get to his apartment, which was causing her some pain in her side

"Are you okay?" Nick asked when he came in the room and saw the discomfort on her face

"Yeah, I'm okay" Judy told him, being the stubborn little bunny she was. Nick rolled his eyes at her and disappeared into the kitchen.

When Nick returned, he had two glasses and a bag of popcorn. He handed one of the glasses to Judy which, to her surprise, had carrot juice in it

"Oh... Thank you" She told him, taking the glass. She expected a smug smirk from him, but instead he smiled at her in a way that made her heart pound in a way she didn't understand

Nick then turned on a movie. It was one that came out not too long ago, about what goes in inside a mammal's head. But Judy was too distracted by her own thoughts to pay attention to the movie. She didn't even realize it had ended and that Nick was talking

"Carrots!" Nick called, snapping the rabbit out of her thoughts "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, what were you saying?" Judy asked

"I was wondering if a mammal that was part cat, part elephant, and part dolphin would be considered a predator or prey, but you're not fine" Nick accused

"I just have a lot on my mind" She admitted

"Like what?" Judy bit her lip, debating whether or not to bring it up

"Like... Why did the doctor call you my boyfriend?" She finally asked. Nick's eyebrows jumped up to his ears and he looked away

"That, that was Chief's idea. When the ambulance arrived after... uh, they said only family was allowed to go with you. When the doctor was done with your surgery, she asked my relation to you, and Bogo said boyfriend. I figured he was right and that would be the only way they would let me see you so I just went with it" Nick explained. Even though it wasn't his idea, he was weirdly embarrassed about it "I'm sorry if it bothered you"

"I was just curious if she had made an assumption or if you said something" Judy muttered

"Is that all that was on your mind?"

"Well... why are you so insistent on taking care of me. I understand your concern, but..." Judy wondered out loud. They were partners and friends, but it wasn't his job to take care of her, and she was capable of taking care of herself. At least she thought so

"You're my partner" Was Nick's answer, as if that explained it all. Judy's expression told him that wasn't the case, however "I guess I... I feel a little guilty" He admitted

"Why in the world would you possibly feel guilty?" Judy demanded, confused. She watched him carefully, trying to determine if he was being serious. He had zero blame in what happened to her

"I stayed up all night. Then I got up late, and then we were late to work. If we weren't late to work, we wouldn't have gotten parking duty. If we hadn't had parking duty, we wouldn't have been able to make that bet and you wouldn't have won, so we wouldn't have been at that pizza place and so close to the robbery" Nick explained. His answer both frustrated Judy and touched her heart. He really thought that his getting up late related to her getting shot? She carefully, so as not to aggravate her stitches, moved closer to Nick on the couch and tilted his chin so he was looking at her

"If you want to go with that kind of crazy logic, then it was more my fault than yours" Judy told him. He tried to argue, but she cut him off

"I made the bet. I choose that pizza place. I ran off after the guy when you told me not to"

They stared at each other in silence for a while before Judy wrapped her arms around Nick's neck. Nick was surprised and hesitated for a moment, but then he hugged her back and pulled her over onto his lap when he saw that she was stretching too much. He wanted to hug her tighter, but he didn't want to hurt her. They stayed like that for a long while before Nick started to chuckle

"What?" Judy asked.

"You smell like hospital" He told her. Her ears turned red with embarrassment and she wiggled out of Nick's arms as quick and painlessly as she could before giving Nick a dirty look and rushing to the bathroom. Nick laughed at her haste and became lost in his own thoughts while he waited

When Judy got to the bathroom, which was an en suite, she got her clothes and started the shower. She looked in the mirror and was a little horrified; she looked awful. She told herself that it was justifiable; she was shot less than 48 hours ago. She just sighed and looked away. She tried to remove her shirt and ran into a big problem; no matter how she tried to do it, she was pulling her stitches too much. She couldn't do it without tearing them. After a long internal battle, she finally gave in to the fact that she needed help. She shut off the shower and left the bathroom. She had to have another battle with herself when she reached the bedroom door, but she reached the same result as the last time. After a deep breath, she opened the door

"Done already? That was fast" Nick said with a smirk

"I need your help" Judy admitted. Nick was quickly on his feet, concerned about his partner, who didn't ask for help

"With what?" He asked

"I can't get my shirt off" She mumbled, barely discernible. But Nick heard

"Oh... Okay" Nick said, going to her in his bedroom

They stood there in awkward silence, but then Judy decided it was best to just get it over with

"I can't lift my arms too much, so... Can you hold my shirt so that I can get my arms out?" She asked quickly. Nick only nodded and tried doing as she asked. He held her shirt's arm hole out and open so Judy could pull her arm in and down. When her arms were out, she realized that she needed her bandages removed too

"Close your eyes" She demanded. Nick didn't question her, he only did as she said, but with a large grin on his face. Judy got the shirt off and then covered herself with it

"Okay, now I need you to help me take my bandages off" She told him. Nick opened his eyes and was pleasantly surprised by the sight of Judy's bare back. He stared for a moment before kneeling down to her level. He removed the tape from her side, where the bandages were secured, and began to unravel them. When they were gone, Nick's heart dropped down into his stomach

He let out a shaky breath and ran his paw lightly across Judy's darkly bruised side and sewed up incision. Judy was watching his every move, but she didn't say anything. Nick fought against the tears threatening to escape as he watched Judy's slight wince every time she breathed, something she hadn't even noticed was happening.

He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just stood and went to the door

"I'm, uh... gonna go get something for dinner... Pizza?" He asked. Judy only nodded and watched as he left. She thought about his reactions for a while before shaking it off and getting in the shower

When she got out, Nick still hadn't returned. She dried and brushed her fur as well as she could, and got dressed. It was then that she heard the front door open. She left the bedroom just in time to see Nick stumble slightly into the apartment, carrying a pizza box.

"Hey, I got the carrot pizza. I gotta admit, it was really damn good" Nick said, kicking the door shut and staggering to the couch

"Um... Nick, have you been drinking?" She asked

"Just a lil bit" he admitted, opening the pizza box and taking out the largest slice "Come on, you gotta eat something" he muttered. Judy wasn't really hungry, and she was now really worried about Nick, but he was right; she did need to eat something. So she sat next to him and began to eat as well.

Nick sat slouched down with his head leaned back, staring at Judy, she could feel his stare, but she ignored it. They were quiet until she picked up her glass of carrot juice

"I got that for the date" Nick mumbled

"What?"

"That's why I was up late. Why I got up late. And we got to work late. I was planning our date. I was gonna ask you, but I got scared" He explained with a slight slur in his voice. Judy didn't know what to say. Was he really going to ask her out? Or was that just the alcohol talking?

"It's time for bed. I'll sleep on the couch, you go sleep in the bed" He then told her

"No, Nick, this is your apartment, you sleep in your bed" She argued, glad for the change of subject

"You are injured. You sleep in the bed" Judy tried to argue again, but then Nick laid back on the couch, sprawling out to take up as much space as possible "Unless you wanna sleep on top of me, now you gotta go to the bed" Nick told her, chuckling with a large grin on his face "Ha ha ha"

Judy was quite frustrated with him, but just as she tried to argue again, the deep and even breathing coming from Nick told her that he was already asleep. She had no choice but to take the bed.

But before doing that she removed his tie, covered him with a blanket, and manage to get a pillow under his head. She was going to be done with him after that and go to bed, but she hesitated. She just had to do it, though.

She pushed the fur between his ears back and then gently kissed him there. His nose twitched a little, but that was his only reaction

Judy felt bad that her injury compelled Nick to drink, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. She only went to Nick's bed, which was bigger than her own, and tried to get some sleep. Maybe they could sort out some of their madness tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

When Nick woke, he had a headache, but that wasn't what immediately caught his attention

It was a very frustrated sounding Judy.

He dragged himself off the couch and followed the sound, which was coming from his bedroom. And there She was, trying to hold up her shirt and wrap her bandages at the same time. It was quite amusing, but he had to stop her before she hurt herself

"Carrots, what're you doing?" He asked, stepping into the room. He starled the rabbit, though, and she jumped about a foot off of the ground

"Nick! You scared me!" She exclaimed, turning to face him, stopping what she was doing. Instead of apoligizing, he only grinned at her

"Need help?" He asked, coming closer and taking the bandages from her, not giving her a chance to answer "Hold your shirt" He told her

Judy never did answer him, she knew he would help no matter what she said or wanted, so she just did as he said and held her shirt up while Nick wrapped the bandages around her torso. He was being very gentle and made sure he didn't make them too tight.

It made Nick's heart flip to see Judy's injuries up close again, but that wasn't going to stop him from helping her and it certainly wasn't going to make him do what he did last night. After he carefully taped down the bandage, he fought the urge to gently kiss her injury. He didn't, choosing to stand up instead, and immediately regreted it. While Judy pulled her shirt back down, Nick realized he may have messed up some last night

"I'm sorry... about last night" he said, sitting on the edge of the bed

"What do you remember?" Judy asked, still standing and trying to take deeper breathes. The doctor told her to be sure to avoid shallow breathing, but taking deeper breaths hurt like hell

"Not much" Nick admitted "What happened?" he was kind of scared about what may have happened. He obviously drank more than he thought he had at the time.

"You were gone for a long time. I wasn't sure why. Then you came back with the pizza... a carrot pizza" She told him with a grin. Nick just let out a slight sigh "You made sure I ate and then insisted that I sleep in your bed, and laid all across the couch to make sure I had no choice. You then fell asleep. I covered you up and put a pillow under your head" Judy explained, leaving out a certain detail, unsure whether or not she should tell him.

"That's not as bad as I feared. I'm really sorry, Carrots... What that all?" Nick asked, sensing she had left something out. Judy bit her lip hard and debated strongly for a moment

"You told me why you bought the carrot juice" She muttered. Nick's eyes doubled in size and he didn't look at Judy

"A-and why was that?" He asked

"You got it for the date you were planning. You said you were going to ask me, but you got scared" Judy told him, her voice gradually lowering until it was just a whisper. Nick let out a low growl and leaned forward, putting his face in his paws.

Judy just stood there, confused and embarassed. Was his reaction because what he said was a product of the alcohol in his body and he needed to break it to her? Or was it because it was true, and he really was going to ask her out? She had no way of knowing until he said something.

"Was I right to be scared?" Nick asked, his voice muffled by his paws

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused. Nick finally looked up at Judy

"If I did ask you out... Would I need to be scared?" He asked

"Of course no! What a ridiculous question" Judy replied

"So what would you say if I did ask you out?" Nick asked quietly

"Well, that depends"

"Oh what?" He asked

Judy stepped closer to Nick and since he was sitting, she was a little taller than him. He looked up at her, and she could see how scared he was, but she wasn't quite sure why

" _Are_ you asking me out?" She asked

This one is a bit shorter, but I didn't want to lose the suspense for this moment :) Please review, it inspires me to write


	8. Chapter 8

_**This part is the night before Judy was shot. It may sound really confusing and jumpy, but it's suppose to. We are inside Nick's head as he tries to figure out how to ask out Judy, it's going to be a mess. PLEASE review. I love reviews and it makes it easier to write if I know people are liking it :)**_

"I can't keep doing this" Nick muttered to himself when he got home from work. He flopped down on the couch and started thinking about what to do

He had to do something. Working with Judy every day, hanging out with her... He hated the term, but he had developed a huge crush on his bunny partner.

He either had to say something to her; ask her out or just tell her that he liked her.

Or find some way to get over it; which was probably the smarter option, seeing as she is a bunny and he is a fox and she'd probably turn him down

But he knew that wasn't an option. He had to say something. He could ask her on a date. Just a small, inoccent date. Yeah, that would work, he thought

But what the heck were they supposed to do on this date?

Judy was talking about this new movie that was out. They could go to the movies

But she has also been wanting to go to this fancy resturaunt not far from the station

They could see the movie and go eat

They didn't have time to do that. And he didn't have the money for the restaurant now. Or the movies

This was the worst time for him to be wanting to ask somebody out! He sighed loudly, and got off the couch, going to the kitchen to get a drink. He also grabbed a blueberry Puptart on his way back to the couch

He was hoping the action of eating something would distract him from his never ending thoughts, but it didn't help at all. He tried watching tv, but nothing was on.

He had a new movie that was released just a week ago-

THAT WAS IT! He knew what to do! He was going to ask Judy on a date to watch that movie, here at his place. He could make a romantic dinner, and it would be really nice and simple

But what was he going to make? He hurried back to the kitchen, but he didn't have much. He had some pasta...

Primavera! His mother used to make a primavera with many different vegetables, he could add carrots

He didn't have carrots! And they needed something to drink with dinner, and he only had coffee and water! He had to go to the store

He grabbed his wallet and rushed out of the house, not even caring that it was almost ten thirty at night. He has a twenty four hour food mart about ten minutes from his apartment, so he hauled tail to get ther before he lost his train of thought

He needed carrots, tomatoes, peppers, and squash. And something to drink.

 _What did Carrots like to drink?_ The frantic thought popped into his head. He would figure it out when he got to the store

As he drove, he began to think that maybe this was a bad idea. If he did ask her out, she would say no...

 _If? There is no if._ He told himself. He was going to do this. And he had to do it tommorow, before he lost his nerve. It was thursday, he would ask her out tommorrow and then they would go out on saturday, so they would have time to recover if it went bad. The idea made his stomach turn, but he pushed the thought away

He got to the store and began to gather the ingrediants. He was the only one there, but that just helped him stay focused

He was about to go to the only open register, when he remembered the drinks. He looked at their selection of wines first, but he quickly realized Carrots wouldn't want wine. Farthur down the isle, he saw his bright orange answer. That rabbit liked all things carrot, so this juice would be perfect

He spent the drive back to his place thinking about ways to ask her, none of which seemed like a good idea. He went through about a million different ideas by the time he got home and put the food away, but still nothing

He finally looked at a clock and realized that it was three am. He had to be ready for work in three hours! He had to get some sleep

Though even when he laid in bed; warm, comfortable, and certainly exhausted, his thoughts wouldn't stop. It was past three thirty when he finally drifted to sleep, hoping his lack of sleep wouldnt effect his work tomorrow


	9. Chapter 9

_**College and packing and moving and homework and driving class... oh my. So much crap always happening. Please read and review and let me know what you think. It's easier for me to write if I know that people are liking what I'm posting, so review :)**_

"Well that depends"

"On what?"

"Are you asking me out?" Judy asked, her heart pounding. What if he said no? This would be the most awkward moment of her entire life!

Nick was sure his heart stopped for a second. This was his chance, but for a long moment he couldn't get his mouth to work. He mentally slapped himself and opened his mouth

"Well... Do I like you a lot? Yes, yes I do" He managed to say. He felt encouraged when Judy grinned a little. He took one of her paws in both of his "So it would be an honor if you would go out with me"

Judy couldn't believe it. She never thought Nick would like her, and she never thought she would also like him back. She bit her lip to try and keep the ginormous grin off of her face

"Of course" She whispered

Now it was Nick with a ginormous grin on his face, but he made no attempt to hide it

"Really?" Nick felt the need to ask just to make sure. Maybe he was still passed out on the couch and having a really awesome dream

"Well yeah, dumb fox" She told him, just having to giggle at him

Nick couldn't help himself. He carefully grabbed up his bunny and set her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her. She smiled and put her arms around his neck and put her head against his chest.

"So... Tonight?" Nick asked

"Of course"

"Do you have anything in mind or do you want to go with my original plan?"

"What was your original plan?" Judy asked "Wait, never mind, I don't want to know. But I do want you to do that" She told him

"No problem, Fluff" He told her, giving her his signature smirk "But you'll have to stay in here"

"Why?"

"Because the original plan was a surprise, so it's going to stay that way. All you know is that we're doing something at my place" He explained

"Okay, sounds like a plan" Judy agreed.

"So, you are going to stay in here and rest, like the doctor said, and I am going to go do that?" Nick said after checking the time

"Whatever you say" Judy answered. She thought about arguing, but it would be futile, and she knew that. Nick stood up and laid Judy on the bed. He found the tv remote and gave it to her before going to the door

"Nick" She said, just before Nick left the room. He stopped and went back to her

"Yes, Carrots?" He asked. With her ears bright pink, she stood on the bed and kissed Nick on the cheek. Grinning, he left the room to set up their date.

Judy could not get the grin off of her face. She was actually kind of happy she got shot. Otherwise, Nick may have never got the nerve to ask her out. She had never realized how much she like him until now. She got comfortable in the over sized bed and turned on the tv, trying to find something to watch

Nick couldn't believe he did it, and more than that, he couldn't believe she said yes. He got out all of the ingredients he bought the other night and got to remembering how his mother used to make it.

It made him kind of sad to be making his mother's dish, although it had been such a long time since she died. He tried to ignore it as he set some water on the stove to boil

After about half an hour, Nick showed up in his room

"Done already?" Judy asked

"No, I'm still working on it, don't get antsy" He said. He walked in the room and looked at the tv "What're you watching?" He asked, handing her a glass of carrot juice

"Wrangled" Judy told him, smiling as she took the glass

"Wrangled? Isn't that a kid movie?"

"Not at all; Disney is for everybody" She insisted

"Whatever you say, Carrots" Nick said, smiling and leaving the room to check on the food.

Judy said she was watching the movie, but she wasn't actually paying much attention to it. She was too busy thinking about Nick and what he could be doing. Whatever he was cooking smelled really good.

When Nick was finished cooking, he realized it was really too early for dinner, but he would have to just go with it.

Okay; it was time. Nick went to his bedroom door and knocked on it before quickly getting back to the kitchen

Judy was still lost in her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. Why was Nick knocking on his own door? She opened it, though, and he wasn't there. There was only a small candle

A couple of feet away, there was another one

Judy couldn't keep the grin away as she followed the candles, which led her into the kitchen. And there was Nick, sitting at the candle lit table, looking nervous as hell. Instead of going to her seat, she went to Nick, hugging him tight. Nobody had done anything like this for her before

"Oh, you bunnies; so emotional" Nick muttered into her ear as he held her, not quite as tight as she was holding him "Come on, lets eat before it gets cold"

Judy pulled herself together and sat in her seat, across from Nick at the small round table. Nick handed her a bowl

"What is it?" She asked, still grinning

"Primavera. An old recipe of my mother's" Nick told her. Judy grinned when she saw carrots in it. When she tasted it, she was amazed

"You made this?" She asked, in disbelief. She didn't think Nick knew how to cook more than some puptarts in the toaster.

"Does that surprise you?" Nick asked, feigning offence

"Well yeah" Judy admitted, giggling.

"It surprised me too. I can't believe I actually remembered everything that goes into it. Took me a couple of hours" He said. But it sparked something in Judy and her grin dropped away

"Is that what you were doing up so late? What you were planning?" She asked. Nick looked away and scratched at the back of his neck

"Uh... Yeah" He answered with a sigh

"You are the sweetest fox I've ever met" Judy told him, her ears red and her face down

Nick wasn't expecting her to say that. He wasn't really sure what he was expecting her to say, but it wasn't that

"Well, you are the cu- most adorable bunny I've ever met" He told her, cutting himself off when he almost called her cute. He knew how she felt about that word.

"Thank you" She said. He didn't know if he was thanking him for calling her adorable or for not calling her cute. But it didn't matter.

They stayed pretty quiet for the rest of dinner, only stealing long glances at each other when they thought the other wouldn't notice.

"If you learned to cook everything as well as you cooked that, you could be a chef instead of a police officer" Judy told Nick as he cleaned up the dishes. She tried to help, but he wasn't having that

"Nah, I wouldn't want to be a chef" Nick replied

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't be working with you everyday" He answered, embarrassing Judy yet again

"Okay, to the living room" Nick said when he was done

"Why?" Judy asked, following him

"To finish our date" he told her "Go sit down"

Judy did as he said, sitting on the couch as Nick went to the tv and put a movie in the dvd player

"What're we watching?" She asked when Nick sat next to her on the couch

"You remember that movie that came out a few months ago, and you really wanted to see it, but we didn't have time to see it? Nick asked. Judy thought for a moment about which movie he could be talking about, and then it hit her.

"Nick! No! You didn't. Pig Hero Six?" Judy asked. Nick held up the dvd case, and she couldn't help herself

"Oh My Gosh, Nick!" She took the case from him and punched him in the arm out of excitement

"ouch" He said quietly, but he was smiling at Judy's excitement

"How? Where did you get it?"

"I paid our old buddy Duke a visit"

"Fun. How much did it cost you?" She asked

"His first offer was $25, but I got him to go down to a wallet-saving $5" He told her. She knew that probably involved some arrest threats, but she didn't say anything of it

"Thank you so much Nick" She told him

"You bunnies are overly emotional" Nick said when the movie was over

"Nick! Boarmax had to be left behind! And when Washi died, come on, you can't say that's not sad" Judy told him. The truth was, the movie really did pull at Nick's emotions, but he would never admit that to her

"Did I do good, though?" Nick asked

"Very good" Judy told him, smiling "I haven't been on a date that good in a long time"

"Who were you going on dates with?" Nick asked, both curious and a little jealous

"My first and last date was right before I went to the academy. An uppity rabbit who thought the lettuce in his fields were the absolute best. I left right after dinner, and then I was too busy at the academy for dating. What about you? Who were you going on dates with before we met?" Judy asked

"Well, I told you I know everyone so that means everyone knows me"

"What does that mean?"

"Well... you know, foxes aren't trusted much anyway, and I wasn't exactly giving anybody a reason to like me, not even any vixens around who understood life as a fox" Nick explained

"I'm sorry you were treated that way. I know some people still don't trust you, but I do" Judy told him

"Well, thanks Carrots" Was, of course, Nick's reply

"Telling you about my date made me realize, I've never had a boyfriend before... I like it" She said

"Oh, so I'm your boyfriend now?" Nick asked, smiling. The idea of being Judy's boyfriend made Nick was to sing and dance

"Yes" Judy whispered her reply "And I'm your girlfriend" Nick took his bunny's hand and couldn't keep his eyes off of hers.

Judy ended up getting stuck looking at Nick's eyes. They were the brightest, most beautiful green; like the grass on her family's farm. Her family's farm...

"Crap" Judy said, her happy smile falling away. Nick's ears dropped in concern

"What?" He asked

"I haven't told my parents" She exclaimed. Nick just had to smirk at her

"Well, of course not. It just happened" He said, thinking she was talking about them now being a couple.

"I'm going to have to tell them about that too! Oh, man, they're gonna freak!" She said, suddenly in a panic

"Hey, calm down, it'll be okay" Nick told her calmly. He grabbed her and moved from her place on the couch, to his lap.

Judy quickly felt better in Nick's arms, but she was still freaking out

"They were so scared for me, they never wanted me to be a cop. What happened will just prove them right. They'll demand that I come home and grow carrots. But I can't just not tell them!" Judy's thoughts were going crazy and if she kept them all in her head she would explode, so they all came rushing from her mouth

"And you. They know about you. They know you're my partner and that you're a fox, but there's a big difference between being partners with a fox and being with a fox. You know my dad was the only reason I had that fox repellent? He tried to make me take a fox taser when I moved here" That latter bit of information made Nick really nervous, but he knew she was right; she couldn't not tell them

"How about... we go tell them what happened. Gauge their reactions, and then if you think they can handle it, we tell them about us. If you don't think they can handle it, we can just wait" Nick suggested, not too happy about the idea, but willing to go with it

"No, I can't just not tell them about you either" Judy insisted "I'll just... go with it"

"So... tomorrow?" Nick asked

"Do you mind?"

"Do I mind? Really? Dumb bunny. Come on, I'm tired and we'll have to leave early if we want to get to BunnyBurrow before night" Nick said

They went to his room, so Nick could remove Judy's bandages. She stood on the bed and held up her shirt while he undid them. Just like that morning, it made his heart drop, but

"It looks better than it did this morning" he told her, looking at the slightly reduced bruising

"I think I may have slept on it last night" Judy said "I tried not to, but sometimes I roll over in my sleep"

"Maybe you should hold me while you sleep, then you can't roll over" Nick said with a chuckle. He meant it as a joke, never expecting Judy to go with it, but that little rabbit was always full of surprises

"That sounds like a good idea" She said, grinning at him

"Seriously?" He asked

"Yeah, why? Are you scared?"

"You should be scared, remember, I'm the predator" He said, quickly moving his teeth towards Judy's injured side. At the last second, he closed his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on her side, just as he wanted to do that morning "I've been wanting to do that" He admitted

"I wish you had sooner" Judy told him, moving to sit on the bed. Then she crawled up to the head of the bed and got under the covers "I guess I'll just lay like this and hope I don't roll over..." She said

Nick couldn't believe how dramatic she was sometimes. She was asking him to climb in bed with her and hold her all night; was he really going to say no?

Of course not. He shut the door and turned off the light, unbuttoning his shirt as he went back to the bed

"What're you doing?" Judy asked, smiling at the now topless fox in front of her

"I get hot at night, and that's without a ball of fluff next to me" He told her. He climbed into bed next to her and she immediately scooted over and curled up against him. He put his arm around her and held her against himself. Neither of them had been so comfortable before

Judy was so happy this day had happened. When it seemed like it couldn't get much better, just as she fell asleep she heard Nick whisper

"God... I love this Bunny"

 _ **A washi is a male eagle... fyi**_


	10. Chapter 10

_Omg guys I am SO SORRY! I just moved and we have no TV, no internet, nothing! But I found a way to post this from my phone, though it it really difficult. It has made me so sad, not being able to update._

 _On a side note, I am fully aware that there are only mammals in Zootopia, I just just trying to be funny/clever with the Snappy Tomato pizza thing idk if you have them in other places, but where I live, it is an actual chain of pizza places._

 _Please review, reviews make me happier than life itself. Thank you_

Judy felt a tickle on her nose, but she wasn't ready to wake up, so she ignored it. But then it happened again. She tried to continue ignoring it, but she knew that wasn't happening. She slowly opened her eyes and saw emerald green.

"Nick, what are you doing?" She asked, a large grin on her face

"Did you know your nose twitches when you sleep?" Nick asked, grinning back at her. Judy resisted the urge to cover her nose with her paw

"No it doesn't" she denied

"Oh, but it does. Plus I discovered that it twitches even more so when I do this" he said, leaning in and kissing the tip of Judy's nose. So that's where the tickle was coming from, she thought as her ears reddened with embarrassment.

"No it doesn't" she tried to argue again even though she felt her nose twitch

"Oh, really now?" Nick challenged. He kissed her nose again, but this time lingering for a long moment before slowly pulling away. Judy's nose twitched as soon as Nick's lips left it.

She knew it would be stupid and pointless to continue to argue, but she found she liked it when Nick kissed her nose.

"I'm still not so sure" she whispered. Nick got the hint and he smiled; he didn't smirk or grin like he usually did, but she got a rare genuine Nickolas Wilde smile before he kissed her nose again. And again and again and again

Just one tickled a little bit, but many ticked a lot. Judy started giggling and trying to get away from Nick, but the kisses kept coming. Until she twisted just wrong

"Ow!" She cried out in pain. Nick stoped and scooted away slightly, his expression changing to one of concern

"Let me see" he said, needing to make sure she didn't rip her stitches. They should start falling out soon on their own, but she still shouldn't be accidentally ripping them out. He didn't wait for Judy to raise her shirt, he pulled it up and examined her wound. None of the stitches were ripped, but I was still more red than it should have been, considering she hadn't slept on it all night.

"I'm sorry" Nick muttered

" I'm fine, Nick, it's okay" Judy assured him, although it did really hurt, she felt better now. Though that didn't stop Nick from gently kissing her bruises

"We need to get some stuff together, and get somethinng to eat. We need to out of here by eight if we want to get there before night" Nick said before climbing out of bed.

Crap. Judy had completely forgotten about going to see her parents! She didn't want to. What was she going to tell them about first; her injury or Nick? She sighed loudly and got out of bed. She dressed quickly and went to the living room, looking for Nick. She was worried that he was feeling guilty about what happened earlier

" I'm making coffee, you want some?" Nick asked when he saw Judy leave his room

"Oh, sure" she answered. Nick then surprised her by already having her bandages ready.

"Stand on the couch" he told her. She did as he said and then held her shirt up. She was getting used to the routine of taking care of her wound. As he carefully wrapped her bandage around her, Judy got to thinking about their date.

"We forgot something" she mumbled. Nick finished and straighted up

"What did you say?" He asked

"We forgot something" Judy repeated "On our date yesterday"

"And what was that?" Nick asked, intrigued

"The goodnight kiss" she whispered, embarrassed.

Nick's ears perked up. She wanted him to kiss her? He wanted to kiss her, how had he forgotten?

With Judy standing on the couch, she was only a little bit shorter than him and she starred at him with her beautiful amethyst eyes, waiting.

Nick put his paw against the back of Judy's head and used his thumb to tilt her head back some. She let out a small, shaky breath and it gave him goosebumps. He landed leaned in closer and kissed her

On her nose again

Which earned him a death glare from his little bunny, but it was worth it to see her nose twitch again. Just as Judy opened her mouth to say something, there was Nick, actually placing a gentle kiss on her lips. The movement startled her, but when it passed, she wrapped her and around Nick's neck and kissed him back.

They both expected it to be a small, gentle kiss, but it soon became apparent that was not the case. The kiss gradually intensified until they were startled away from each other by a loud ding

Judy jumped back and fell down to the couch, her tail end flopping into the cushion. Nick bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck

"Um... Coffee's done" he muttered, turning and going to the kitchen.

"Wow" Judy mumbled to herself after Nick left the room. She expected herself to be embarrassed, but instead she only found herself thinking about what Nick said last night. Had she heard him correctly? Did he really say that he loved her? And how did she feel in return?

The latter really got her mind reeling. They had been friends, best friends, for a while now. She had no doubt that she cared a great deal about him, but did she love him? She thought back to Nick's first day on the job

"You know you love me" Nick had said. At the time she thought it was a joke or that he meant it in a friendly kind of way

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do" she remembered telling him... What did she mean by that?

She placed her paw against her lips, feeling the ghost of Nick's lips against her own. She tried to get the huge grin off of her face before Nick came back.

When Nick got to the kitchen, he placed both paws on the counter, bracing himself. He let out the deep breath be had been holding in

"Wow" he mumbled to himself. If he wasn't positive before, he was now; he loved that bunny. He was worried what her parents might think, but that didn't stop the truth; he was so in love with her.

And that kiss was more than he had ever hoped for. He was grateful the coffee pot went off, however. Things were getting really intense really quick and after a certain point, he knew it would be hard to stop. And with Judy's injuries, continuing was not an option.

But he didn't need to continue, he was happy just being with her.

 **I got the idea for the nose thing from my best friend. She likes to poke my nose because I can't help that my nose twitches when she does that, no matter how hard I try to stop it. She thinks it's hilarious and I thought it would be cute for Judy and Nick. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, I am really very sorry, please stick with me though :)**


	11. Chapter 11

A/N:I don't think it actually takes very long to get to BunnyBurrow from Zootopia, but... shhhhhh. Please review. Reviews are one of the only positive parts of my life right now. Stress is eating me alive, but that's why I write fanfiction.

They prepared their coffee and then headed to catch the train to BunnyBurrow. When they were settled in their seats, they sat quietly, not looking at each other.  
"So... What're you gonna tell your parents?" Nick finally asked "I don't know... I don't know how they'll react to any of it" Judy said with a sigh "Well, don't worry about it right now" He told her, taking her paw in his. She couldn't help but smile at him She wrapped her arm around his and leaned against it, cuddling against the soft fur there. He smiled at her and they sat in comfortable silence all the way to BunnyBurrow.  
When they finally arrived, Judy took a deep breath and stepped off of the train with Nick "Judy? What're you doing here?" She heard her mother ask. Of course, she happened to be at the train station when they arived "Hey, it's my mother!" Judy muttered, going to her "Honey, you didn't tell us you were coming" Her mother said, before glancing behind her at Nick "This must be Nick" "Yes, mom, this is Nick. Nick, this is my mother" Judy told them. She was really nervous, but she tried hard to find you. Nick gave her mother his signature smirk "Nice to meet you"  
"Nice to meet you too, My name is Bonnie" She said. Judy could tell she was a bit wary of Nick, which embarassed her. "Well, let's get to the house"  
So they went back to Judy's old home, back in awkward silence "Bon, the carrots are done!" Stu shouted to his wife when he heard the front door open "did you get the potatos?"  
"Yes, Stu, and guess who's here" Bonnie called back. "Who?" Judy's father asked as he walked in the room. He looked up and first saw Nick "Fox!" He shouted, out of pure instinct. Nick's ears lowered and he took a step back. Judy noticed and grabbed his arm "Dad! This is Nick; My partner!" She told him, very upset by his outburst "Nick?" He said, confused. He had a bad habit of not remembering bits of information and he had completely forgotten that her partner was a fox "Yes, dad, Nick" Judy told him. He calmed some, but he still wasn't too keen about having a fox in his home around his dozens of children. He wasn't as afraid of foxes as he had once been, working with Gideon had eased some of that, but Gideon wasn't showing up in their home.  
"Nick, I'm sorry, but that is my dad" Judy told him, now annoyed "Judy, honey, what're you doing here?" Stu asked, finally realizing. They all went to the living room and sat down, except Bonnie, who went to the kitchen to get drinks "I can't come visit my parents?" Judy asked, not ready to tell them; especially after her father's reaction to just seeing Nick "Of course you can, Jude, but you're usually too busy" Bonnie told her daughter, returning with the drinks. She hadn't come to see them since the nighthowler incident almost a year back. They would video chat, but that just wasn't the same.  
"Well we had... some time off so I thought I would come see you guys" She half lied "You took time off?" Judy's mother asked in disbelief "But you love your job"  
"It may be... mandatory time off" Judy muttered "Mandatory? Why would they make you take time off? You haven't been there long enough for that" Her father questioned. Judy's heart felt like it was going to explode, it was going so fast. Until she felt Nick's paw against her lower back, offering support. She immediately felt better, but she was still very nervous "There was an incident the other day. While we were handling a robbery" She admited to her parents "Oh goodness, you weren't shot were you?" Bonnie asked, horrified by the idea. Judy's ears drooped low and she held her breath. Her silence hung heavy in the air for a moment while her parents realized what Judy's lack of denial meant "Honey, you weren't" Her mother repeated, now even more scared "I- I was" Judy managed to say "But it was fine! I'm fine! It was no big deal, not really! It wasn't that bad and-" "Don't" Judy was trying to make sure her parents didn't have heart attacks right there in front of her, but Nick cut her off "Please don't" He said softly. Judy looked to him, confused. His expression was one she didn't often see. He didn't look sly or cocky; he looked genuinly hurt.  
"I know you are trying to make sure they don't worry too much, but... I can't hear you say that is was no big deal and that it wasn't that bad" He told her. He looked up and saw the horrified expressions on Judy's parents faces, but it didn't stop him from not wanting to hear her talk like that. She had almost died. He almost lost his best friend. That wasn't 'not that bad'. He sighed and stood from the couch. "I'm gonna go get some air" He told her, going outside "What happened?" Bonnie asked; upset.  
Judy sighed, knowing she couldn't lie to her parents. Nick was right; it was a big deal and it was pretty bad. She had died. Not for long, but it still happened. "After work, we were having dinner and we heard on the radio that there was a robbery nearby. I decided I could handle it and went after him. I didn't know he was armed... The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital" She told them quietly. "Where?" her mother just had to know. Judy sighed and stood from the couch. She pulled up her shirt to show her parents where she was badaged over her wound "I had to have surgery... to remove the bullet" she told them quietly "Oh, honey!" Her mother cried before rushing over to her, hugging her tight. Judy couldn't help the squeak of pain that escaped her "I'm so sorry!" Bonnie said, jumping back away from her daughter "I'm fine. I'm getting much better... Thanks to Nick" She told them "Nick?" Stu asked, in disbelief. A fox was helping his daughter get better?  
"Yes, he's been helping me everyday. He helps me change my bandages and do things that I can't at the moment" She told them "He's not just my partner... He's my best friend"  
"But Jude... He is a fox... You know it's not in his biology to be friends with a bunny" Stu told his daughter. He was worried about her enough, dealing with criminals and predators everyday, but hanging out with a fox just extended the danger she was exposed to.  
"I know you aren't too keen on predators, but Nick... He loves me" She told them gently, looking down at her paws Then she heard the screen door. She looked over and Nick was standing there, looking embarassed with his ears tucked back. Judy just had to smile at him. He looked so vulnerable, which was hilariously ironic considering he was a predator surrounded by bunnies.  
"I heard you the other night" Judy told him, smiling a little.  
"I thought you were asleep" He muttered, looking down.  
"Judy can we have a moment alone with Nick?" Stu asked, eyeballing Nick in a way that made Judy a little worried.  
"Dad-" "Jude, please, just a moment?" He interupted, not taking his eyes off Nick, whose eyes wouldn't leave the floor.  
Judy took a deep breath and carefully stood from the couch, trying not to use her core muscles too much. Nick finally looked up to watch her and make sure she didn't need any help. She made a point of grabbing Nick's tie, pulling him down to her level, and kissing his cheek. He then couldn't kee the grin off his face as Judy went outside and he went to take her place on the couch.  
"I'm going to go check on dinner; Stu... Be nice" Bonnie told her husband, leaving the room.  
"So... You love my daughter?" Stu asked, still staring Nick down. Nick glanced up at him for a moment, before looking back down. He had never been intimidated by any mammal before, pred or prey, big or small; but this bunny had him feeling about the size of a mouse "Yes, very much, sir" Nick told him "You are aware I gave her fox repellent before she left for Zootopia?"  
"Yeah..." Nick said, drawing out the word "Yet here you are... I guess it didn't work too well" Stu told him. Nick had nothing to say to that. He stayed still when Stu got up and got something from the side table drawer "Well I'm positive this works" He said. Nick looked up at what he had and... It was a fox taser. His eyes doubled in size. He had been tased before and it was not fun. He flinched some when Stu pressed the button on the side, making it buzz "I'm not thrilled with the idea of my daughter being with a fox, but if she trusts you, I can too. But she's still my baby girl. If you hurt her, physically or emotionally, I will get you" He said, pressing the button again.  
"I understand sir. If I do something to hurt her, I will be more than happy to come here so you can do your damage. Because hurting Carrots is the last thing I want to do" Nick told him, finally looked Stu in the eye. Stu gave him a nod.  
"I'll hold you to that" He told him. He had just enough time to put the taser away before Judy came back in the house "I know that wasn't the fox taser I heard" She said, tapping her foot on the floor and staring daggers at her father "Of course not, Jude the Dude, I would never" He said, smiling at his daughter. She needn't know about their discussion, and definitely not about his threat Judy stared at her father a little longer before letting it go. Then she tured her attention to her scared looking fox.  
"Before it gets too dark, Nick do you want to go pick some blueberries?" She asked him. His ears immediately perked up as he turned to smile at his bunny "Can we?" He asked, excited "Of course, let's go" She said, turning to walk out the door and gesturing for him to follow her. He gladly did so, his tail swishing happily behind him. Stu watched them leave, a little wary, but happy that his daughter was happy 


End file.
